Tensions
by PeleAmelika
Summary: I started this a long time ago, it was initially about Anakin and Obi-Wan heading back to Coruscant, post TPM, and I had added another part to it, and now here's another part to that. I hope you like it!
1. Tensions

Tensions 

Anakin Skywalker moved towards the ship. It would take him and his new master, Obi-Wan Kenobi to Coruscant where he would learn some basic skills. Though, Anakin was still worried about this whole thing. He wasn't even sure if Obi-Wan even liked him, if this taking him as a padawan was only to fulfill Qui-Gon's last wish. Anakin remembered the exasperated look on Obi-Wan's face when Qui-Gon first introduced them back on Tatooine. Tatooine. It seemed like a century ago since when he lived there. Already, it seemed, he was forgetting his old life in the death pit of sands.

_No! I can't forget Mom. She needs me. I _will_ go back and save her._ Perhaps it was that he wasn't really forgetting Tatooine, rather, it was he wanted to forget. But he couldn't afford too. He knew that someday he was going to right all the wrongs that have been done to all the slaves in Tatooine. He had seen it in his dreams, and most of his dreams deemed true.

With these thoughts in hand, it wasn't very surprising that during the first half hour of the trip were pretty quiet between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan, however, was pondering over different things. _I hope he does well at the temple. What do I mean hope, I _know_ he will, he's just out there. But I cannot indulge him and pretend he's a perfect angel. Remember what happened to Xanatos. _The other side of his mind debated this: _Obi-Wan, you cannot be biased against him though. Not everyone turns into Xanitos, don't make him pay for something he didn't do._

Half-way to Coruscant, Anakin couldn't resist the urge and started asking questions. "So other initiates live in the temple? How come I didn't see any?"

"Yes, there are a couple hundred, they were probably in class while you were at the Jedi Temple."

"What kind of classes do they take?"

"Oh, it depends. Everyone takes courses like meditation and light saber training. Others are optional, if you want to pursue some other education, like pilot flying." Obi-Wan said.

"Pilot flying! Really? Cool!" said Anakin, who then immediately regretted using the word "cool", as Obi-Wan suddenly had a strange expression on his face, it wasn't anger, but it was. . . something.

Obi-Wan was only surprised at the word. It was slang and he used it to tease his master, he never thought of himself reprimanding anyone for using slang. It would take time to get used to being a "Master" to Anakin.

"What's wrong," Anakin asked, finally breaking the silence. 

"Oh, nothing. I just never thought that I would have to tell someone to use correct English, but I guess now I'm a master and I should. So use correct English," said Obi-Wan. And then added slyly "But only when we're around other people."

They both broke into grins, the first tensions seemed to be lifted as Obi-Wan readied the ship for landing on Coruscant.

A/N: Well, if you guys like it, I'll pursue it, but if not, maybe I'll think of something else. So, all feed back is welcome, if you didn't like the story, please tell me why, I'm curious, I'm new at writing. See ya! (btw, if I do continue it, I will make it longer parts, just wanted to shorten things out for an introduction)


	2. Hope

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! Especially the first one, because it was like 9:30 at night and I was debating on whether or not to do the extra credit for math, so I decided to take a break and saw that review and it just uplifted me and gave me the motivation to finish, so now my math grade is up a percent (yay!) Thanks for all the other reviews too. J

Hope

As the ship landed on Coruscant, Anakin was looking all around excitedly. He had the same bubble of hope that he had before the last time he was there, when he was hoping to be accepted to the Jedi Order. Of course, that bubble popped and rose again a couple of times since then, but now it seemed that this was permanent. When Obi-Wan took them on a small transport to the Jedi Temple though, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

_What if I do something wrong? Break a rule I didn't know about or some custom? _

Obi-Wan felt Anakin's self-consciousness and said "Don't worry, everyone there will help you get used to the temple life. Some may scorn you for being so old and suddenly being put in the temple without any training, but don't sink to their level and be contemptuous towards them."

The next day however, Anakin was wondering if Obi-Wan was wrong in saying "some" would scorn him, it seemed a more appropriate word would be "everyone."

_That's not true, _he told himself, _there was that one girl from the Kugelschreiber system._ He remembered his first impression of her; she was humanoid, with beautiful black shimmery hair and olive skin. She gave him smile when he first walked into his first meditation class. _Meditation, what a disaster! _He thought. He had known that his classes would be hard, but not this hard. Anakin recalled the memories of it.

He had just walked in, five minutes late. It wasn't his fault, Obi-Wan was meditating in the gardens and Anakin didn't want to disturb him, even to ask where his class was. He asked a passing Daan where it was, who pointed it out, with a sort of cunning smile on his face. Anakin realized that he gave him the wrong area, finding that it was the girls' bathroom. When he finally got to where he was supposed to be, the class was already sitting down listening to their instructor, Master Fenster. 

"I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't know where to go!" Anakin said pleadingly to the master.

"Anakin, if you need to know where to go, ask anyone and they will point it out. Please remember that next time you are in that situation."

"Yes master…"

"Master Fenster. Okay, class, for today's lesson, I want to keep on clearing your mind of all thought. Just sit there silently through words and mind and concentrate on the force, feel it, but don't use it. Begin when you're ready."

_She closed her eyes and seemed almost lifeless, sitting there_, Anakin thought. He tried to do the same. It was so hard! He kept thinking of different things, just random things, like when was lunch. He tried to "feel the force," but he didn't have best idea what she was talking about that. He would have to ask Obi-Wan later.

As the class drew on, Anakin got bored. He started to tap his fingers on the ground. Other students glared at him. Master Fenster finally told him to stop, but he still couldn't clear his mind. He heard whispers behind his back.

"He's so unfocused. I knew that he wouldn't be able to do this."

"What makes them think that he's the chosen one? If he can't do a simple meditation exercise, what can he do?" Anakin heard snickers.

"I think that the Council is only taking him on because Qui-Gon wanted him to, the Council just wanted to respect his wishes, since they were a death-bed wish. But I wouldn't, Qui-Gon must have been a fool to think that this kid is special."

Anakin's temper flared up. No one was going to call Qui-Gon a fool in his presence. Qui-Gon, his mentor, his savior from Tatooine. "Don't you DARE call Qui-Gon a fool!" he shouted at the two girls behind him. "He was the kindest man in the galaxy! He gave people chances that they deserved--like me! If you ever--" 

"That is enough, Anakin!" said Master Fenster. "You will do the evening dishes for two weeks for your outburst. You two also," he said to the gloating girls who then pouted, shooting venomous looks at Anakin.

One of the other girls who hadn't joined in the conversation gave him a sympathetic look and gave him an encouraging smile. 

Anakin didn't have any more classes that day and headed down to where Obi-Wan said he would meet him. "Master, during meditation, we were supposed to "clear our minds and feel the force", but I had a very hard time with it. I don't know how to clear my mind and I don't know how to exactly "feel" the force, could you explain that a bit please?"

Obi-Wan had heard the disruption in the class. Although he agreed with Anakin and his opinion to the conversation of the girls, he didn't approve of how Anakin reacted. _He still has much to learn. He needs to learn to control his anger. And to learn to concentrate. _Obi-Wan had had trouble with this too when he was a young Padawan, and he struggled to remember some things Qui-Gon had done with him.

"Padawan, let's try an exercise that might help you. I want to you to concentrate on one object, say that apple right there. I want you to concentrate on it, just think about it, as if it's the most interesting thing in the galaxy."

Anakin tried and found it much easier to concentrate on something he could actually see and touch.

After about five minutes, Obi-Wan spoke again. "Now that you can concentrate on an object, try to think of nothingness as an object, trick your mind into thinking about nothing and concentrate on it. What do you feel?"

Anakin closed his eyes and put forth an intensity of concentration on nothingness. He suddenly felt a surge of power that came from nowhere. _Wow, what was that? The force?_

_Yes, my Padawan, it was. _

Obi-Wan knew then more than ever that Anakin was truly the chosen one. It took Masters and Padawans months or even years before they established a link like the one he experienced with Anakin. He was learning so much is such little time. Anakin felt it too, and both of their bubbles of hope grew thicker still.

A/N: Well, how about this one? Is it okay? I have no clue. Oh, and by the way, "Fenster" and "Kugelschreiber" are german words. I don't want to make a romance between Anakin and the girl from Kugelschreiber, but maybe good friends? Anyone who can figure out what "fenster" or "kugelschreiber" can pick her name as long as it's not offensive. If no one gets it, I'll just pick a name, but I'm terrible with names, I mean, really, I had to use german words for names! J


	3. Self Doubtness

Title

A/N: It's been so long since I wrote something, wow. But here is another part which is a follow up to "Tensions" and "Hope". Hope ya like it.

Self-Doubtness

Anakin had just completed his first week at the Jedi Temple. Of course it was hard at first and it still was, but Anakin seemed to have adjusted to it pretty well. 

Naturally, there were people who still snickered when he went by (when no masters were present, of course), but Anakin on one level understood their resentment and jealously. _If I had been here when I was since I was born and training all my life and suddenly some ex-slave boy comes in and is great at just about everything when he's had no training, I'd be jealous too, right?_

Or maybe not. Anakin liked to think of himself as an unselfish person, but he wasn't sure about the truth about that. He had just doubted himself too many times when he was on Tatooine and Watto was yelling at him. Was he of any value? He knew to Watto, only a novice pod racer who was also good with machines. But other than that? Slave scum.

Qui-Gon had given him a boost of self-esteem and now he believed that he could be worth something. Could be. Anakin felt like he had to prove himself, not only to himself, but to everyone. Maybe then he would stop having so much self-doubtness.

* * *

Anakin went down to the gardens of the Temple to meditate, (since he learned it, Anakin had begun to enjoy it) and found Master Yoda down there. Not wanting to disturb him, he started to move to another place in the gardens, but Yoda stopped him.

"Hello Padawan Skywalker. Come down here you have to speak with me, even if meditate you thought you wanted. Speak we will."

"Okay, but I really came down here to meditate." Anakin said.

"Search your inner feelings, we will. Meditate afterwards we will do so."

Anakin sighed and told Yoda about how some of the kids still weren't accepting him. 

When Anakin had finished, he looked at Yoda. Yoda looked sad as he spoke to Anakin.

"So much you care about what people think of you, hmm?" He said.

Anakin's face clouded. He didn't mean to say that he really cared about what other people thought of him. If he had back on Tatooine, he would have the lowest self esteem possible. _But wait a minute_, he thought. _I just told myself that I didn't care about what people thought, but now…_

Yes, just now, he had admitted to Yoda, and himself that he did care about what people meant. He was shocked at the news, he had always told himself that it didn't matter what other people said. But maybe he had just told himself that. Maybe he told himself that to himself, but the words didn't reach his heart and he had pushed it all away whenever it came to rose.

Anakin stared again at Yoda, with more respect for him once again. Would Yoda ever cease to amaze him at how deep he dug into people's conscience's? 

"Finished we are. Think I do that you have more things to meditate on now."

Anakin shared a private smile with Yoda and sat down again to meditate.

* * *

With a sense of new confidence within himself, Anakin strode into his light saber training class. Almost immediately, he saw some slight sneers towards his direction, but he ignored them. He sat down next to the girl who had smiled at him in his meditation class and listened to his light saber instructor, Master Jehns. 

"Today, we will do an exercise using the training sabers and blind fold each other, so that you will only use the Force as your guidance. I will choose your partners, Sandie, you will be with Tander, Sereda with Anendba….."

Anakin was praying that he wouldn't get have to fight with, "And Anakin with Bendon." 

__

Poodoo! Anakin thought. Bendon was the being that had talked trash about Qui-Gon in his meditation class. _He's going to try the best to make look like a fool!_ But then Anakin remembered the promise to himself that he wasn't going to care as much about what people thought about him. _Stay calm,_ he told himself.

Anakin watched as the other partners began to duel. It seemed that fate wanted him to wait forever to do his duel with Bendon--he and Bendon were to be the last people to duel, giving him more time in torment and worry about the duel.

Suddenly, Nashia, who Anakin had found out was the girls' name who had smiled at him, won her duel, delivering a would-be fatal swing at her partner's neck. The training swords weren't as near as powerful as real light sabers. Instead of getting beheaded, Damien, Nashia's partner, got a sting on his neck. 

"Good job, Nashia," said Master Jehns. "And to you also, Damien, you two kept up a good duel."

Anakin smiled to himself. It was true, they had been at each other for almost thirty minutes. His smile almost immediately faded when Master Jehns announced, "And now, Anakin and Bendon, please."

Anakin stepped forward to get a blindfold, when he heard Bendon's extremely loud whisper to his friends, "This'll be a piece of Ceka (J ), watch me take him in five minutes."

__

Well, we'll see, thought Anakin. 

Bendon and Anakin bowed to each other, as was custom, and then put on the blindfolds. For a moment, Anakin was worried that Bendon would wrap his so loosely that he could see through the blindfold, but then Master Jehns came around and checked their blindfolds and fastened them tight.

Then Anakin heard her back away, and waited. _Should I make the first move?_ But then he heard Bendon rush at him and swing at him with his saber. 

Suddenly Anakin felt a rush of adrenaline and cleared his mind. It was amazing! It was as if Anakin could see everything that was happening even though he was blindfolded! 

Anakin had a side thought about how this had been a little like when Master Windu had asked him to name the objects on a screen that he couldn't see when the Jedi Council were testing him.

But that was nothing compared to this. Not only could he virtually "see" everything, but everything also seemed to slow down for him so he could anticipate moves from Bendon.

Anakin swung his lightsaber to deflect Bendon's easily, and moved towards him on the offence. But Bendon jumped over him and tried to attack the back of his neck, but Anakin was ready for him, and moving his lightsaber aside, he heard a surprised gasp from Bendon, and with his distraction, Anakin made haste and swung his saber at Bendon's neck, which met its target.

__

Yes! Take that Bendon! Who's the oaf now? Anakin thought. But he quickly sobered, and then Bendon cursed out loud. "Sith! You're nothing but a Bantha Fodder, you cheated!"

"Bendon! That kind of behavior will _not _be tolerated! You will therefore clean the Temple's sanitary filling tank for one month. No excuses!" she said, as Bendon opened his mouth to protest. 

"Class is dismissed for now, nice technique, Anakin," said Master Jehns.

"Thank you," said Anakin. As he headed out the door, Nashia walked up to him.

"That really was a good duel," she said.

"Thanks," said Anakin.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad somebody beat Bendon for once and so good--not that I mean him any ill will," she said.

"Why?" asked Anakin.

"Well, he was the best in our class. No one could beat him. And after what he said about you and Qui-Gon, he deserved it."

"I shouldn't have lost my temper with him though, I can't let people get to me." Said Anakin.

"Well, it seems to me that you're starting to get better and better at it."

Anakin felt a sense that some of his self-doubtness had completely gone away. _Well, maybe not all of it, but it's a start,_ he told himself.

A/N: Well, do ya love it? Hate it? Tell me, _please_! If you hate it, please say why, I may change it if it suits me. 


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